Kohl’s, which has 1,174 stores nationwide, said it is “temporarily” not accepting returns bought from Amazon at some stores. Photo courtesy Kohl’s
March 19 (UPI) — Kohl’s is temporarily not accepting Amazon returns at some department stores, the company confirmed to media outlets Wednesday.
The company is “conducting a test” in certain stores that are dropping the service, according to USA Today.
“Kohl’s has a test and learn culture that helps us to evolve our store experience and stay informed about customers expectations and preferences,” a statement to WMAQ-TV in Chicago said.
The exact number of stories wasn’t announced.
Locations include Leominster, Mass., Eau Claire, Wis. and Washington, Mo., retail trade outlet Modern Retail reported.
An employee posted on the Kohl’s employee subreddit that the test started Monday.
Kohl’s began accepting Amazon returns across the chain in 2019.
“We’re really going to just continue to be focused on all of our initiatives to drive traffic, and Amazon is obviously one of those key items, Sephora being another one,” Jill Timm, Kohl’s CFO, said in 2022.
The Khohl’s and Amazon websites don’t reflect the change.
Staples and The UPS Store accept returns. They will pack, label and ship the items.
Items can also be picked up at Staples and UPS locations.
Amazon, with 10% of the retail market, ships an estimated 1.6 million packages per day, according to MobiLoud.
Kohl’s plans to close 27 of its underperforming stores by April and cut 10% of its corporate workforce.
There are 1,174 stores nationwide with 96,000 associates in 2024, according to Stock Analysis.
The company’s sales declined 9.4% in the fourth quarter of 2024 and 7.2% for the year. And Kohl’s expects a 2% net decrease in sales for 2025.
It had $17 billion in revenue last year.
The company went public in 1992.
Kohl’s was founded in 1927 as a grocery store by Maxwell Kohl and built his first supermarket in 1946.
In 1962, Kohl’s opened its first department store. By 1992, there were 76 Kohl’s stores in the Midwest.
In 2003, it opened 28 stores in California, “giving Kohl’s a coast-to-coast presence for the first time in our history,” according to its website.
Herb Kohl, the son of founder Max Kohl, died at age 88 in 2023. He was a former U.S. senator and Milwaukee Bucks owner.